THE POTENTIAL LIFE ARGUMENT AND ABORTION

The Church condemns those who are pro-abortion. It also condemns those who are pro-choice because pro-choice means being pro-abortion when a woman chooses it.

Critics say that is silly for the aborted baby is a potential baby.

A potential baby can own. Imagine if you left all your wealth to the baby in your womb it will be considered his or hers even though he or she cannot have it for years for there is growing up to be done. The argument that human life is inviolable and there is an inalienable right to life and it has nothing to do with how developed the human being is suggests that this is another reason for saying the unborn can own things.

None of that changes the fact that a non-potential human being, the mother, takes first place. Grown x in a sense has to come before potential x.

If a baby does not own itself and it is in the womb then if the father owns it that does not practically speaking mean anything. The mother must be counted the owner and the father gave her his seed. The baby is the mother's property until it becomes a person.

To kill a person is to take the life that person values. And the person is left unable to value things such as love and truth and compassion and whatever. This opens the door to argue for abortion for the unborn baby at an early stage cannot value its life or anything else.